Erotica in any form provides an element of fantasy, an escape from
the mundane, an expansion beyond the boundaries of everyday. Reading
erotica, we can lose ourselves in the intoxication of desire. We can
forget the overbearing boss, the traffic jam, the bills waiting to be
paid, not to mention our own physical weaknesses and imperfections.
For a few hours, we are free to become someone else, to experience
intense, exotic, outrageous sexual adventures that most of us are
unlikely to encounter in the real world.

Paranormal or fantasy erotica provides an even more complete
escape. Not only are sexual rules and restrictions suspended, the very
laws of physics are subject to change. At its best, this subgenre can
steal you away to a totally new world where the inhabitants have
powers and lusts stronger than those of mere mortals.

Janine Ashbless' Black Lace volume, Burning
Bright, is a fine
example. Though the heroine Myrna appears little older than a girl,
she is in fact the reincarnation of Malia Shah, a terrible goddess of
destruction and despair reminiscent of the Hindu Kali. Trained from
birth by the priests in her desert temple to ignore and transmute
pain, she is hardly daunted when she is captured by vicious slavers
who serve the Tiger Demons. However, she fears for her lover Veraine,
beaten and left for dead by her captors.

Veraine, meanwhile, is barely alive and has completely lost his
memory. He wanders through strange realms, seeking his past, following
the ghostly shards of memory that he retains of a woman with dark skin
and coppery hair. Somehow he knows that this is his true love, but
this does not prevent the lusty warrior from ravishing every other
woman that crosses his path.

Myrna is chosen as personal pleasure slave by the Harimau queen
Shinsawbu, a magnificent and capricious creature who is truly feline
in her cunning and cruelty. The goddess/slave becomes a pawn in the
dangerous games played by Shinsawbu's brother Dhammazhedi. As Myrna is
punished, marked, defiled and humiliated by the Tiger Lords, she
awaits the return of Veraine. Although all live in terror of the
blood-thirsty, shape-shifting demons, Myrna knows that Veraine can
defeat them, and indeed he does, though just barely. Together they
bring down the inhuman reign of the Harimau and find a new home after
their exile.

Genre novels entertain partially because the reader knows what to
expect. Burning Bright fits the mold of fantasy/paranormal romance.
The plot is more or less predictable, and since this is an erotic
romance, the frequent sex scenes are also easy to anticipate. Despite
the stereotypes that come with the genre, however, I found the book
entertaining with occasional flashes of brilliance. Ms. Ashbless
paints vivid pictures of strange lands. When Veraine stumbles into the
sadomasochistic clutches of the revenant Rani Mirabai, I could see,
feel, even smell her haunted, decaying palace. The luxurious and
colorful city of the Harimau comes alive when viewed through the eyes
of desert-reared Myrna. The various peoples that Myrna and Veraine
meet in their travels are distinguished by language, culture,
superstitions and traditions. I particularly enjoyed Veraine's
traveling companions, itinerant storytellers Rahul and Teihli, who
bring tales of the gods to the villagers, and leave the blessings of
their bodies.

I also applaud Ms. Ashbless' carefully limited use of magical
powers. Too often, heroes and heroines in this genre easily conquer
every adversary, simply by calling upon new supernatural capabilities.
Though she is a goddess, Myrna has no real power other than her wits
and her esoteric training. Veraine is heroic and skillful with
weapons, but suffers from many weaknesses including the tendency to
ignore his common sense in favor of his cock. Even the Tiger Lords are
not invincible. In fact, this book is "paranormal" mainly in
its aura of mysticism and inexorable destiny. Myrna and Veraine have
visions; they walk in the world of the spirit as well as of the flesh.
At the same time they are realistically fallible.

I did find myself wishing that Myrna's and Veraine's history had
been given more prominence. The tale of their love, of their betrayal
of their assigned fates and their flight into the unknown, would make
a grand adventure in its own right, but the history is barely sketched
out near the end of the novel, almost as an afterthought. In fact the
end of the novel was a bit disappointing overall. Perhaps this is
always true in romance. When the lovers reunite after their separation
and their trials, in a coupling of inevitably incadescent passion, the
tension that propels the story forward is dissipated.

On the other hand, this reaction is likely a reflection of my
personal preference for a bit of ambiguity in fiction. Anyone who
enjoys a romantic tale in the paranormal/fantasy genre, with plenty of
exotic sex along the way, should appreciate Burning Bright.

About the Author:
Lisabet Sarai has been writing ever since she learned how to hold a pencil. She is the
author of three erotic novels, Raw Silk, Incognito, and Ruby's Rules;
co-editor, with S.F. Mayfair, of the anthology Sacred Exchange (Blue
Moon); and editor of Cream, the Best of the Erotica Readers &
Writers Association.
Visit her website, Lisabet Sarai's
Fantasy Factory for more information and samples of her writing.